A typical medicament dispenser includes a body defining a storage chamber, a fill opening in fluid communication with the body, and a stopper or cap for sealing the fill opening after filling the storage chamber to hermetically seal the medicament within the dispenser. In order to fill such prior art dispensers with a sterile fluid or other substance, such as a medicament, it is typically necessary to sterilize the unassembled components of the dispenser, such as by autoclaving the components and/or exposing the components to gamma radiation. The sterilized components then must be filled and assembled in an aseptic isolator of a sterile filling machine. In some cases, the sterilized components are contained within multiple sealed bags or other sterile enclosures for transportation to the sterile filling machine. In other cases, the sterilization equipment is located at the entry to the sterile filling machine. In a filling machine of this type, every component is transferred sterile into the isolator, the storage chamber of the vial is filled with the fluid or other substance, the sterilized stopper is assembled to the vial to plug the fill opening and hermetically seal the fluid or other substance in the vial, and then a crimping ring is assembled to the vial to secure the stopper thereto.
One of the drawbacks associated with such prior art dispensers, and processes and equipment for filling such dispensers, is that the filling process is time consuming, and the processes and equipment are expensive. Further, the relatively complex nature of the filling processes and equipment can lead to more defectively filled dispensers than otherwise desired. For example, typically there are at least as many sources of failure as there are components. In many cases, there are complex assembly machines for assembling the vials or other dispensers that are located within the aseptic area of the filling machine that must be maintained sterile. This type of machinery can be a significant source of unwanted particles. Further, such isolators are required to maintain sterile air within the barrier enclosure. In closed barrier systems, convection flow is inevitable and thus laminar flow, or substantially laminar flow, cannot be achieved. When operation of an isolator is stopped, a media fill test may have to be performed which can last for several, if not many days, and can lead to repeated interruptions and significant reductions in production output for the pharmaceutical or other product manufacturer that is using the equipment. In order to address such production issues, government-imposed regulations are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are further increasing the cost of already-expensive isolators and like filling equipment. On the other hand, governmental price controls for injectables and vaccines, including, for example, preventative medicines, discourage such major financial investments. Accordingly, there is a concern that fewer companies will be able to afford such increasing levels of investment in sterile filling machines, thus further reducing competition in the injectable and vaccine marketplaces.
In order to address these and other concerns, the present inventor has determined that it would be desirable to manufacture and fill vials by first assembling the cap to the vial, sterilizing the assembled cap and vial, such as by irradiation, and then filling the assembled vial by inserting a needle or like injection member through the cap and introducing the medicament through the needle into the sterilized vial. One of the drawbacks associated with this approach, however, is that when the needle or like injection member is inserted through the cap and then withdrawn, it leaves a tiny hole in the cap. The material of the cap is resilient in order to reduce the diameter of the hole, and therefore the hole is usually small enough to keep the medicament from leaking out. However, the hole typically is not small enough to prevent air or other gases from passing through the hole and into the vial, and therefore such holes can allow the medicament to become contaminated or spoiled.
It has been a practice in the pharmaceutical fields to add preservatives to medicaments, such as vaccines, in order to prevent spoilage of the medicaments upon exposure to air or other possible contaminants. Certain preservatives, however, have been determined to cause undesirable effects on patients. Consequently, many medicaments, including vaccines, are preservative free. These preservative-free medicaments, and particularly preservative-free vaccines, are subject to contamination and/or spoilage if contained within a vial wherein the cap has a needle hole as described above.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome one or more of the above-described drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art.